American Cleaning Institute meets on oleochemicals/surfactants

01 February 2013 16:18[Source: ICIS news]

ORLANDO (ICIS)--The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) is meeting this week in ?xml:namespace>Orlando, Florida, bringing together members of the oleochemical and surfactant industries to discuss challenges and opportunities in 2013.

According to Ernie Rosenberg, CEO of the ACI, cleaning priorities for 2013 include innovative developments for new products that incorporate superior cleaning capabilities and integrate sustainability.

Sustainability is moving to the forefront of the cleaning industry as oleochemicals such as fatty alcohols, fatty acids and glycerine combine with key chemicals for surfactants such as ethylene oxide and various amines to make the vast number of cleaning and cosmetic products that are used globally.

In looking at sustainability, industry participants are bringing additional scrutiny to all aspects of the products, ranging from the feedstocks to the molecular composition to supply-chain logistics.

The industry continues to examine the ongoing effects and requirements of Europe’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) initiative of 2007, along with US Food and Drug Association’s Food and Safety Modernisation Act, a food safety reform act signed into law in 2011.

Both reform acts focus on ensuring food safety and increasing the monitoring of chemicals in the growing global market, all of which incorporates the oleochemical industry and the huge surfactant end-use segment.

Fatty alcohol producers such as Procter & Gamble, VVF and BASF were present at the ACI meeting, along with a variety of alcohol buyers and end-use manufacturers such as Evonik and Croda, among others.